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36 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1902. 
difficulty arises in selecting the eggs laid by any particular hens, and conse~ 
quently it is not known which are those of the best layers. But if trap nests, 
which retain the hen after she has laid, are employed, every egg can be identified, 
j 
and we might have breeds of prolific birds instead of the scanty layers that are 
now too common in many varieties of fancy fowls. The Rhode Island report, 
which was quoted, did not give any particulars of the construction of the trap 
nests that were employed; but a modification of what is known to pigeon- 
fanciers as “ bolting wires’ would be perhaps one of the simplest adapted for 
the purpose. I, therefore, present to the poultry-fanciers who are not familiar 
with this contrivance the following diagram, illustrating the manner in which 
‘bolting wires” can be applied to ordinary hens’ nests. 
A cylinder of wood, which turns freely on a pivot at each end, is placed 
across the upper part of the entrance to the nest; from it hang two wires 
sufficiently long to extend to the bottom of the entrance, where they are arrested 
by the framework, and cannot pass out beyond the perpendicular. These wires 
hang so loosely that a hen or pigeon can readily push them back and enter into 
the nest, or, in the case of a pigeon, into the loft. As soon as the bird has 
passed through, the wires fall and egress is arrested. The construction is so 
simple, as shown by the diagram, that no further description is necessary. It 
is obvious that a hen going into a nest furnished with one of these traps, in 
order to deposit her egg, is confined there until she is released. The use of | 
traps of this kind, in order to obtain the particular egg laid by any hen, neces- 
sarily involves a certain amount of trouble in liberating the hens after laying, 
but this is amply repaid in many cases where the eggs are required for setting, 
by their identification as having been laid by the best hens and the most 
prolific layers. When not required for use, these bolting wires can be raised 
up and secured by a small wire hook placed for that purpose in the nest. 
WORKING AN INCUBATOR. 
A Surrante Room Must se Cuosen. 
When an incubator fails to hatch satisfactorily it by no means follows that 
the blame lies with the machine. The makers call them automatic, but they 
are so only to a limited degree, and, though there is nothing intricate in the 
working, yet certain rules have to be followed, and certain conditions main- 
tained ; otherwise, the best of incubators will fail to hatch a chicken. Some 
makers forward with each machine they sell full and detailed accounts of how 
to work them ; others, again, cut the printed instructions far too short, and 
leave too much to the imagination. There are certain simple rules common to 
all incubators, and these I will refer to; but in all cases I would advise 
workers to stick as closely as may be to the makers’ instructions, and never to 
buy a second-hand machine without them. Indeed, second-hand machines 
should be looked on with suspicion, and bought on a month’s approval, if 
possible. On the other hand, an incubator that hatches satisfactorily should 
not be lightly discarded; it often happens,.when two are run of the same 
pattern and under precisely the same conditions, that one hatches better than 
another—that in fact they vary in results from causes which are not always 
clear to the worker. : 
Having got the incubator, the first desideratum is a suitable room to stand 
it in; that is to say, a room with an equable temperature, and not subjected to 
any vibrations or noises, as these are liable to affect the egg germs. It really 
seems, though there is no scientific reason for it, that fertile eggs in an 
incubator are more sensitive and liable to be affected by their surroundings than 
under,a hen. , Not all of us realise how sensitive the germ is in the early stages 
of its development, and how slight a cause will prejudicially affect a successful 
hatch, , A, room subject to viglent fluctuations. of temperature is not suitable, 
and for this reason rooms with glass roofs or corrugated iron are not good, for 
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